Zab Judah

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Zab Judah bigraphy, stories - American boxer

Zab Judah : biography

October 27, 1977 –

Zabdiel "Zab" Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American professional boxer. Judah has won five world titles between the light welterweight and welterweight divisions and is a former Undisputed World Welterweight Champion.

Personal life

Judah has nine brothers and two sisters. Five of his brothers also box, with three of them, Josiah, Joseph and Daniel Judah, boxing professionally. Judah’s father and trainer, Yoel Judah, is a six-time kickboxing world champion and a seventh degree black belt. Judah’s father is an avowed Black Hebrew Israelite and Judah’s family has declared themselves Jewish.. Jews In Sports Online. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.. BraggingRightsCorner.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-18. However, that declaration is ambiguous because Judah thanked "his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" after his 2005 fight against Spinks., at 6:42 on May 11, 2010 HBO video on YouTube.com posted by fightfilms1. Retrieved 2010-06-16. Zab is now a Born again Christian.

In July 2006, he was arrested after a celebrity basketball game at Madison Square Garden on a Family Court warrant. In August 2007, Judah became involved in a fight at Stereo nightclub in New York. According to the New York Daily News, Judah started throwing punches after he was hit first by someone who approached him. Two of the perpetrator’s friends then joined in the fight and eventually everyone involved were kicked out of the club. After reviewing the videotape, the club indicated the perpetrators "might have been plotting something."

New York Police linked rapper Fabolous to a crew of robbers who targeted Judah twice. According to police reports, the Street Fam Crew, the gang that attempted to rob Judah, is made up of 20 members, all former drug dealers from Fabolous’ Brooklyn neighborhood. In 2006, three men tried to rob Judah as he stood next to his Lamborghini on West 27th Street at 10th Avenue in New York City. The three men drove up to Judah in a minivan at about 5 am, and came out. One man pulled a handgun on Judah, and told him to put his jewelry on the hood of his car, but Judah ran instead. The muggers followed in their minivan, but crashed into a tree a block away. All three robbers fled the scene, but one was captured by a Homeland Security agent on his way to work, and another was grabbed by a nearby cab driver.

Professional career

Light Welterweight

Judah made his professional debut as an 18 year old on September 20, 1996, in Miami, Florida and defeated Michael Johnson by technical knockout in the second round. After winning bouts over George Crain and Omar Vasquez in May and June 1997 respectively, Judah closed the year with first-round knockouts over Cesar Castro, James Salava and Ricardo Vasquez. Judah began 1998 by knocking out Steve Valdez in the first round in January. Valdez, who had never been stopped in his career, went down four times in the fight. In March, Judah and his opponent, Esteban Flores, accidentally clashed heads in the second round, causing a cut to open above Flores’ eye and the bout was stopped in round three as Flores could not continue because of the cut. The bout went into the books as a technical draw, but the result was changed to a no contest in May 1998. On April 14, 1998, Judah battered two-time Dominican Republic champion Angel Beltre, stopping him in the second round.

The victory earned Judah a bout against Micky Ward for the vacant USBA Light Welterweight title. Judah defeated Ward by unanimous decision to win the title. Judah successfully defended the USBA title by stopping Darryl Tyson in the eleventh round on October 15, 1998. Tyson was knocked down three times before the fight was stopped.

IBF Champion

Judah captured the Interim IBF Light Welterweight title with a fourth-round knockout over Wilfredo Negron in January 1999. On February 12, 2000, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Judah fought Jan Piet Bergman for the vacant IBF Light Welterweight title. Judah knocked Bergman down twice in the first round, but Bergman sent Judah down to the canvas in the second round. Judah knocked out Bergman in the fourth round to win the title. On June 20, 2000, Judah made his first title defense against Junior Witter in Glasgow, Scotland. It was an awkward fight for Judah, as Witter rarely engaged in an extended exchange of punches. Witter frequently switched between fighting right-handed and left-handed, making him an elusive opponent. By the middle rounds, however, Judah’s consistent body punching slowed Witter down, and in the fifth round, Judah caught Witter with a straight left hand that hurt Witter and sent his mouthpiece skittering across the ring. Judah defeated Witter by unanimous decision.